


Echo's A Bitch

by MaxiBrux



Category: The 100 (TV)
Genre: AU - Current Times, F/M, Past Bellamy Blake/Echo
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-08-29
Updated: 2020-08-29
Packaged: 2021-03-06 21:54:53
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 6,333
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26176054
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/MaxiBrux/pseuds/MaxiBrux
Summary: Bellamy married Echo after they apparently had a drunken one night stand.  After 20 years Bellamy discovers that his whole marriage was based on a painful lie and he wants out.This is based on a FF for Twilight that I previously posted on another site.
Relationships: Bellamy Blake/Clarke Griffin, Emori/John Murphy (The 100), Finn Collins/Raven Reyes, Gina Martin/Charles Pike, Octavia Blake/Lincoln
Kudos: 42





	Echo's A Bitch

**Author's Note:**

> I busy typing away at one of my other ongoing stories and for some reason one of my earlier stories posted on another site came to mind. I immediately got to work making a formerly Twilight FF into a 100 FF and this is it.

Bellamy’s POV

I was sitting in my library reading the latest theories of the fall of the Greek Empire. I often wondered whether or not I should have gone into practicing archaeology rather than being a College lecturer. I may be a very learned lecturer, but I couldn’t make myself relax and empathise with my students in a way that put them at ease. At the end of the day, they all felt like numbers rather than people when in my lecture theatre. At least they, and their families, had the consolation of knowing that while under my tutelage they received the best possible education, as if most of the students cared about that, especially those for whom archaeology was a mere elective.

Whilst I was contemplating if there was anything I could do to change my demeanour to make my students feel more engaged I was distracted by a knock at my door.

“Sorry to disturb you, Dr Blake” – Echo insisted that formality be the rule in all interactions between us and the staff, “but your nephew, Sinclair, is here with his friend asking to see you.”

“Thank you, Terri. Please show them to the lounge and offer them refreshments. I shall be there shortly.”

I put the report back in my desk and switched off the music. I was wondering what Sinclair could want to talk to me about. We hadn’t spoken in a while and last I heard from my brother, Finn, was that he, Sinclair, and his girlfriend had decided to stay as just friends and he hadn’t found a replacement.

I entered the lounge to see Sinclair sitting on a sofa holding the hand of beautiful young lady – a new girlfriend perhaps, while Terri placed a tray on the coffee table in front of them. I looked closely and noticed that both Sinclair and his friend appeared to be anxious. I dismissed Terri with a smile of thanks.

“Hello, Sinclair. You seem upset. Is it something that I can help you with?” I asked wanting to be of assistance to my nephew if I could.

“Hey, Uncle Bellamy. First let me introduce you to my best friend, Madi. Madi, this is my uncle, Dr Bellamy Blake.”

“Pleased to meet you, Dr Blake. Sinclair has told me so much about you” as well as being very pretty, Madi seemed to be a well-mannered young woman.

“Very nice to meet you too. So what is going on?” I pressed.

I watched as Sinclair and Madi engaged in a silent conversation for a few moments before they simultaneously both nodded in a most decisive manner. Sinclair took up the reins of the conversation.

“Uncle Bellamy, I need to ask you some very strange, quite personal questions before I explain this to you – I’m sorry but I do promise that they are important. Is that okay?”

I nodded my agreement looking forward to getting to the point of this bizarre visit.  
“Have you ever permed your hair and if so can you explain more about it?” 

I agreed, it was a strange and quite personal question but I didn’t mind answering. “All through Tondisi I permed it very curly and dyed it black. I cut it all out the day I graduated realising that it was immature of me to be ashamed of my hair.  
I looked at Madi’s hair, noting that it was very similar to the colour my hair was at her age, not that brown is so uncommon, and it also had the same wave mine did when it wasn’t ruthlessly cut short.

“Okay, and this is even more personal, but it really is important” Sinclair said and I nodded for him to continue. “Why did you and Aunt Echo never have children?”

Wow, that really was personal. Actually, I would have thought that he already knew the answer, it was the subject of great discussion within the family, but perhaps it was never talked about while Sinclair was around. “Echo never wanted children. She always said it was because she and I together was enough and she couldn’t imagine that having a child would make us happier than we were.”

Once again Sinclair and Madi engaged in a totally private conversation. Instead of a nod of the head, the conclusion of this chat was indicated when Madi reached into her bag for her ‘phone.

“Uncle Bellamy, Madi is going to call her mom and put her on speaker. Can you listen to the conversation and not make a sound? All will become clear and you can ask your questions at the end of the call.”

I nodded to both Sinclair and Madi really intrigued now.

“Madi love, how are you?” I heard a sweet voice ask through Madi’s ‘phone.

“Mom, I need you to listen, I’m with Sinclair and you’re on speaker.” My presence was ignored.

“Okay, honey. Nice to speak with you again, Sinclair.”

“Hey Doc Griff. Madi is going to tell you something and then ask some important questions, I hope you’ll understand when we finish and I’m very sorry in advance if this call upsets you in any way but I do assure that it is important.”

“Okay, you’ve got my attention, go ahead Madi.”

“You know how Sinclair and I decided to forget a romantic relationship and settle for being best friends?” Madi sounded very nervous. Was she about to say that she was pregnant?

“Yes, you said that when you kissed it felt wrong, like how I described kissing your uncle Wells.”

“Yeah, anyway, during our Genetics class we had to analyse our blood and we discovered that we were actually biologically related, probably some sort of cousins.” Madi’s voice tailed away as a loud gasp came down the ‘phone to join mine, luckily not as loud and hopefully missed at the other end.

“Oh, honey. Thank goodness you didn’t go too far. How can I help you? You know everything I know about my family and you know I know nothing about your father’s.”

“Mom, can you tell Sinclair everything you remember about him and the night I was conceived, no matter how small the detail because it may help us to find him?”  
I panicked, what it they were half siblings rather than cousins? It would end Finn’s marriage.

“His name was Bell, he had black curly hair and went to Tondisi College, archaeology I think, but I’m not sure, it’s just a vague recollection I have of him telling me that he was going to be an archaeologist.”

For a brief second I thought I was going to pass out. This young woman could be my daughter! But how? I focussed back on the words coming through the ‘phone hoping that I had not missed anything important.

“… I can’t remember all the details but the party was at some woman named Echo’s house. She was some connection to Murphy’s cousin Ra .. I can’t remember her name now; it will come back to me. You know that I am a lightweight when it comes to alcohol and I’m afraid that I didn’t pay enough attention and drank too much. I tried to explain to Bell that I was a lousy dancer, clumsy and drunk was a bad combination, but he insisted that it was all in the leading. I don’t know if I’m wearing rose tinted glasses but I do remember feeling graceful as he twirled me around the room.”

Things were coming back to me. It was the graduation party. I too was drunk but I remember the blonde haired beauty I was dancing with.

“The next morning I woke up to realise I was late and needed to get back to my dorm or I would miss my ‘plane. Bell was sleeping and I didn’t want to wake him so I left a note.” There was no note in my room. “As I was leaving his room Echo was standing outside and gave me a nasty look and said something to the effect that I wasn’t his first one night stand and that I wouldn’t be the last. He never called.”

I quickly got out my ‘phone and wrote a question, showing it to Madi.

“What time did you leave his room, mom?” she asked.

“It must have been about half ten, maybe a quarter to eleven. I was packed and in the cab for the airport before twelve. Why was that important?”

I shook my head at Madi.

“Never mind, mom. What happened when you tried to trace him?”

“Murphy and Emori didn’t remember him from the party but they did put me in touch with Echo. She assured me that there were no black curly haired Bells that she knew about and when I pointed out that it was his room I came out of she said that it was her cousin’s room and he most certainly was not black curly haired so Bell must have gate-crashed the room if not the party. She promised she would ask around and get back to me if she discovered anything. She never did and when I tried to get hold of her again her number was disconnected.”

I have no idea what I looked like at that moment, but I was sure that I was devastated. I had missed the growing up of my only child; not only that, it was possible that she would not have been an only child if Echo had not kept us apart. I knew that my life was about to change irrevocably.

“Do you think that will help you find out how you are related?” the mother of my child’s voice asked.

“Thanks Doc Griff, I know who it is now. We just have to figure out how to tell him everything” Sinclair said while looking at me.

“When you talk to him, tell him I’m sorry that I couldn’t find him. I wanted him to know as soon as I knew I was pregnant. I wanted it to be his choice if he was in Madi’s life. And thank him; thank him for the most precious gift anyone ever gave me, my beautiful daughter. Can you do that please, Sinclair, can you?”

“I’ll make sure he knows, I promise. We’ll get back to you when we know what’s happening. Take care and don’t worry” Sinclair said then disconnected the call.

I studied the face of my child, seeing me in the hair and the colour of the eyes, but the expression in them was her mother’s as was the mouth.

“I’m so sorry, I didn’t know” I said not knowing how I could make it up to her.

“I know. I guess Echo is the one to blame. I guess she took the note mom left” Madi surmised.

It was more than that, but I thought that that was something that I should talk to … I didn’t even remember her name! “What’s your mom’s name?”

“Clarke, Clarke Griffin.”

“Clarke, gorgeous, charming, charismatic Clarke” I murmured as I remembered.

I thought for a moment then called for Terri.

“Yes Dr Blake?” she asked as she entered the room.

“Do we have any boxes that I can use to pack things in?” I asked as I looked around. When Terri answered in the affirmative I asked her arrange for ten to be put in the library and half a dozen in the master suite.

“What are you doing, Uncle Bellamy?” Sinclair asked looking a little panicky.

“Moving out, and you are going to help me.” Sinclair and Madi looked at each other before shrugging their shoulders. I directed them to the library and asked them to pack everything from the desk and the shelves into the boxes then to put them into their car then find me. I started to pack my belongings from my suite. I started being careful, folding everything nicely but soon gave up with that – it could all be pressed later.

A short while later Madi and Sinclair joined me.

“Can you drive, Madi?” I asked.

“Yes, why?”

“I want to take two vehicles from here and I’ll need you to drive one of them. After I leave here today I don’t want to come back again. Echo can keep the house, I’ve never liked it, and I really don’t want to see her again either so I’d rather be gone before she gets home. Madi, can you shove the clothes from that dresser into boxes while Sinclair and I carry stuff to the garage?”

And without waiting for a response I picked up two boxes and took them to my Aston Martin.

When we had finished piling the boxes, plus a couple of suitcases into the cars I took a final walk through the house that I had lived in for the past eleven years. I took a few of my family photographs but left all the artwork and objects since they were Echo’s taste not mine. I wrote a note for Echo telling her that I had left and would be consulting a lawyer shortly to arrange the divorce and suggested she seek Counsel too. I gave the note to Terri asking her to make sure Echo got it and informed her that I was leaving. I promised that I would make sure that she was adequately compensated if she was out of a job as a result of this action but she should no longer consider me to be her employer.

“Where to Uncle Bellamy?” Sinclair asked.

“Your house while I arrange alternate accommodation. Then, can we talk please Madi?”

Clarke’s POV

It was a strange Christmas: Madi and I decided to spend it just the two of us together at home instead of with Abby and Marcus so it was very quiet. Madi told me that she met her father and that he seemed nice.

“I don’t want to tell you his story, he does” she told me. “My opinions might influence yours so I’ll just tell you some facts about him.” I had to, reluctantly, accept this. But she did say that he hoped to come and visit me to talk just before the new year and I didn’t know whether I was scared stiff of the up-coming conversation or looking forward to it.

“His name is Bellamy Blake and he is a College Lecturer. He doesn’t have black curly hair though. Do you remember what I wanted to do all through middle school?” I nodded to acknowledge Madi’s former desire to straighten her hair because of all the teasing she was subject to due to its persistent uncontrollable wave. “Well he had the same dislike of his hair and he permed and dyed it black while at College. He cut it all off the day after the graduation and was his natural brown top again albeit very short and straight.” Well, that explained Madi’s hair and the fact that I couldn’t trace a black curly haired Bell.

“He said he was very drunk that night and only has vague recollections of you, which he thought were dreams. He didn’t find a note from you: what happened to it is a matter of pure conjecture at this time. He doesn’t have any other children and is grateful to you for keeping me. Everything else he wants to tell you himself.” I was relieved that it didn’t sound like he was going to harangue me for keeping his daughter away from him.

“What have you told him about me?” I suddenly wondered how fair the playing field was.

“Only that you are a Doctor, single and that I am an only child. I didn’t tell him that you have not had a serious relationship, nor that you are a klutzy genius, oh, but I did say that Gramps is a retired cop, sorry, that came up in conversation rather than me telling him that so I didn’t add that Gramps is your step-dad nor that he was Chief of Police. I did tell him a lot about me, my date of birth, goals and aspirations, best subjects, worse subjects, first boyfriend and that Gramps and Uncle Wells threatened him and boring stuff like favourite colour, flower etc. We had quite a discussion about music and literature when I told him my favourite bands and books!” I could understand that: Madi’s taste in music was eclectic to say the least, and as for books, she states that she reads to be entertained not emotionally moved so she preferred to read light, completely unremarkable trash (well, I think they are trash, but since she, and thousands more, like them I guess I shouldn’t be so judgemental).

“Mom, he’s here” Madi was excited when she saw on the security screen that Bellamy had pulled into the parking bay for our apartment. I was more nervous about the forthcoming encounter. For the first time in 20 years I would meet the father of my beloved only child. I didn’t know if I wanted to see the attractive young man that I believe I remember from all those years’ ago.

I pulled myself together: I would not let Madi down. I was a confident mature Doctor, not the shy wallflower I used to be. It did not matter if I felt any residual attraction for him, or if he felt any for me. He, no doubt, had aged just as I have and we were both completely different people to the two we were the night Madi was conceived. At least that was what I was trying to convince myself of. 

“Bellamy! It’s so good to see you, thank you for driving all this way” Madi greeted the (unfortunately, from my point of view) exceedingly attractive man at our door. “Let me re-introduce you to my mom. Mom, this is Bellamy Blake, Bellamy, this is my mom Clarke Griffin.”

I held my hand out to the man who had helped to create my amazing daughter. “I’m very pleased to see you again” I said as I felt a spark shoot up my arm as we shook hands.

“I am very pleased to see you again, too” he said, giving our hands a strange look as if he too had felt the strange current. “I cannot thank you enough for keeping our daughter and raising her to be so remarkable. I am so sorry that I didn’t find your note and that you couldn’t get hold of me when you knew you were pregnant.”

“Well, there is nothing we can do about that now. Come in and make yourself comfortable. What can I get you to drink? There’s a bathroom down the hall, second door on the left if you wish to freshen up” I tried to be the perfect hostess.  
When we were sitting, not very comfortably I might add, Bellamy gave Madi a pointed look.

“Mom, I have already heard Bellamy’s story and I think you need to hear it without me here. I’m going to the hotel to meet up with Sinclair. I have my ‘phone if you need me, otherwise I’ll be back with Sinclair and Chinese at about six.” At that Madi stood, gave me a hug and patted Bellamy on the shoulder before leaving us alone. I had been abandoned.

Bellamy’s POV

I left Sinclair at the hotel and set the GPS for Madi and Clarke’s home nervous as hell. The past two months had been brutal. Echo fought dirty and nearly destroyed our family in the process. When Sinclair and I left to come to Arkadia, tensions were still high and I didn’t know what I would return to.

Sinclair had decided to go straight back to College after this visit and I would return to my hotel suite. Raven had refused to allow me to stay with her and Finn when she heard that I had left best friend and was filing for divorce. Despite being my brother and best friend, Finn gave into Raven after a day of arguments and no sex. Finn had been so shocked when I told him that Echo and I had sex once a week, on a Friday or Saturday night. He and Raven were at it all the time and had never gone a whole day without before and he was ill-equipped to survive it (hence the reason that Sinclair was an only child). I loved my family so I just went to the Marriot where I stayed because I couldn’t be bothered to look for somewhere more permanent. I just had to get this visit over with and make my apologies to the woman who had been so wronged before I could move on.

Shaking hands with the beautiful woman who had given birth to my daughter was surreal. I was sure that I felt an electric shock travel up my arm straight to my heart and when I looked into her eyes I remembered that when we made love I thought of her as ‘glorious’ and I felt another stab of bitterness at how I had paid for not remembering her when I woke the next day.

Clarke had to be in her forties but could easily pass for thirty. Next to her I looked like an old man and I wondered what she thought of how I had aged. But I had to pull myself together, I wasn’t here to renew our relationship, if that word could be used to describe our past, I was here to explain and apologise.

Madi had left us alone, refreshments were on the coffee table and I had no more excuses. I ran my hand through my hair and grabbed the back of my neck in my usual habit as I took a deep breath.

“I was born 42 years ago to Aurora Blake. I was six when my mother, who was nearly nine months pregnant and I were in a car accident. My mother died and my baby sister and I were left orphaned. We lived with my mom’s sister, Gina, and her son Finn who were hiding from her abusive ex. Over a period of time Gina fell in love with and married Charles. When I was nine, and Finn seven, Charles and Gina adopted us so that we became a proper family and I became Bellamy Blake Pike. You have to understand that I don’t really remember my birth mother, and I have no memory at all of my birth father and no idea who is Octavia’s birth father. As far as I was, am concerned Gina and Charles are my parents.”

I looked at Clarke as she nodded acceptance of what I was saying, but clearly didn’t understand the relevance. By the time I finished my story she would know why this detail was important.

“Charles was an only child but he was close to his cousins and his cousin’s children were brought up to think of Charles and Gina as aunt and uncle and Octavia, Finn and I as their cousins and that is how I always thought of them. Finn and I disliked our cousins Roma and Dax, twins, who luckily lived in Europe with their parents so we didn’t see a lot of them. But we did see quite a lot of cousins Echo, Roan and Ontari who lived in Azgeda.” I saw Clarke start when I said Echo’s name, well, a lot more was to come on that front.

“When I was 12, Echo 13 she decided she was going to marry me. I thought it was disgusting. One, I wasn’t into girls until much later and two, she was my cousin. Mom and dad told me not to worry because it was only a crush that she would grow out of. Well she didn’t. It didn’t matter how many girls I had, and to be honest, once I discovered girls I was an absolute douche, nor how many times I told Echo that even though there was no blood relationship between us I thought of her as my cousin and would never think of her as more than that, she persisted in thinking that one day I would wake up and realise that she and I were meant to be together.

“I have no idea how, since she was not the most intellectual person even though she has a native cunning about her, Echo managed to get into Tondisi and after our freshman year our parents bought us a house to share. Finn was already at Tondisi but he wanted to stay at the Frat house. I continued to be a douche with the girls, but to be honest, I wasn’t as bad as I wanted Echo to think – I didn’t have sex with everyone that stayed over. Echo went through her share of boys and girls, but I think that was more trying to make me jealous and she would get upset when it never worked. I have no idea why our parents wanted her and me to share a house.”

“Perhaps they thought that you would wake up one day and realise that you were meant to be with her, or that she would one day wake up and realise that you were a douche and she didn’t want to be with you after all” Clarke suggested.

I nodded my agreement with her assessment since it seemed most logical.

“Anyway, shortly after my high school graduation I permed and dyed my hair to be curly and black, thinking that it would look so much better with my olive skin tone. I kept it that way all through Tondisi. Echo decided that we should host a party immediately after graduation, but just before heading home. I remember drinking a lot and having to be rude to Echo to tell her that she and I were not going to happen. I remember dancing with a gorgeous blonde, getting lost in her bright blue eyes. I remember making love to her, glorious Clarke is what I called her in my mind and I remember sleeping with her in my arms. And then I woke up.”

I had to stop. I needed a short break. I finished the now cold coffee and asked if I could have some water. I also went to the bathroom. I looked in the mirror and hated what I saw. I was a man who had lived the past 20 years paying for a mistake that I did not make and I was bitter; very, very bitter and I didn’t know if I would be able to recapture me, lose the bitterness, once this day was over.

“Thank you” I said to Clarke as she indicated a bottle of water next to a glass of ice on the table replacing the coffee cups that were there previously.

“How long are you in Arkadia for, Bellamy?” Clarke asked. “You don’t have to tell me everything in one sitting if this is too hard for you.”

“No, please, let me get it all out. I have no doubt that you will have some questions and I know I would love to know more about you and your life over the past 20 years. And I would like to ask for more information about Madi, the stuff she doesn’t know like when she got her first tooth, how long you were in labour for and to see photos and any videos you might have.”

“Okay, and in anticipation of your last point, I have had copies made of a selection of photos for you take with you. I didn’t think about videos, but I’ll sort that out soon, I promise.” I nodded my acceptance of Clarke’s words.

“When I woke up I knew immediately that I had had sex and I was happy. I didn’t know why I was happy, but I had a feeling of contentment and turned to wake you. Only I couldn’t wake you and I was in a nightmare. Echo was naked in the bed with me and she was smiling.” I looked at Clarke asking for understanding, forgiveness, something, anything. She looked resigned, as if she knew this part was coming. “Echo told me that the night was fantastic and that she always knew we were meant to be together. I tried to let her down nicely, and when that didn’t work, I turned nasty. But she got our families involved and my dad practically made me marry her, ‘to do otherwise would show distinct lack of honour’ he told me. You should know that I asked Madi to ask you what time you left our house because when I woke up it was five to eleven. Given what you said, Echo had to have worked fast to get rid of your note and to strip and get into bed with me.”

“In other words, she set you up.”

“Yes. I thought that perhaps I had danced with you and you left so I took my horniness out on Echo, using her to replace you in my mind and I felt guilty. Guilty enough to marry her and spend the last 20 years trying to make up for using her to replace either the real you, or imaginary you that night.

“When Madi and Sinclair came to see me and I understood what had happened I left Echo immediately and filed for divorce the next day. I informed Echo that if she allowed the divorce to go through we could just pretend that we realised that we were not meant to be a couple and no-one would know what really happened. But she wouldn’t go quietly. And that’s when all the family came out on sides.

“My brother, Finn is married to Raven, Echo’s best friend. Sinclair is their son. I understand you know Murphy, who is also Raven’s cousin.”

“Yes, Murphy is married to Emori; I introduced them as I am friends with them both. I am surprised that Emori was not able to put everything together. She knew that ‘Bell’ was, sorry, is Madi’s father and that the conception took place at Echo’s house.”

“Yeah, but she probably did not know that I had ever had black curly hair. The family don’t talk about the great insult – my birth mom had the same hair as me and Gina’s hair is very similar, almost the same as Madi’s, and my hair was covered on my graduation photo by my cap. Also, Echo had convinced everyone that I was with her that night.”

“Were you at Murphy and Emori’s wedding?” Clarke asked. “And you mentioned a Roan when you mentioned your cousins, is he the same Roan married to Nylah because I know them and he never talks about his family?”

“No and yes to Roan and Nylah and I was at their wedding even though he is all but estranged from his mother and sisters, were you?”

“No, Madi was sick and I couldn’t leave her to fly to Azgeda. I don’t remember seeing you in any of the photos, though.”

“No, I was only in a group shot or two, hidden amongst the crowd. After Echo’s and my wedding, which took place before I started grad school, I focussed on my work. Echo tried to make us the perfect couple, but I just did not feel it. It gave me plenty of time to study and Echo plenty of opportunities to shop and party. Once I had finished my internship Echo decided that we should move to Polis. I didn’t care. I bought the house that Echo chose and lived in a vacuum of work and reading until the day Madi and Sinclair turned up unexpectedly and gave me something real to live for.”

And now came the real confession: I am an absolute dick. “I packed my bags and left before Echo returned home. I gave a note to the housekeeper to give to Echo letting her know that I was filing for divorce and it was up to her as to whether it would be amicable or nasty. She chose nasty so I told everyone what happened the night Madi was conceived and when you tried to find me. I’m afraid it has caused some problems within my family and I have been asked, begged, threatened to let it all quietly slip away – after all, it happened so long ago and I should forgive and forget. I refused and in response to the threats dropped the surname of Pike, upsetting most of my family but I just want to be released from what has become my prison and I really don’t care who gets upset or hurt, as long as it’s not Madi.”

“Well, I can’t say I blame you for feeling like that. I am surprised that your immediate family aren’t one hundred per cent behind you and helping you to kick her out of your life” Clarke said, making me feel like I have another supporter to add to Madi and Sinclair.

“So you don’t think this makes me a selfish prick, as my sister in law called me?”

“No, I think it makes you sensible”

And my heart soared.

Epilogue

Some Years Later

Gina’s POV

I sat next to Charles mentally thanking God that we able to witness this wonderful occasion: the wedding of our only granddaughter – even though we are still only called Gina and Charles, or Ma’am and Sir. But, as Sinclair pointed out, we haven’t done anything to earn the titles of grandma and grandpa, and it really isn’t that long since Madi stopped calling Bellamy by his name and started calling him dad.

We missed Bellamy and Clarke’s wedding because the tension within the family was so great that they eloped with only Madi and Sinclair to witness. Bellamy even went as far as to legally change his name back to Blake. I don’t know that I shall ever forgive myself for practically forcing Bellamy to marry Echo in the first place, and then trying to persuade him to stay married to her even when all the details of her shenanigans came to light in the name of family harmony. I know I never lost his love, but I did lose a lot of Bellamy’s respect for me.

One good thing came from Bellamy’s public announcement of his change of surname, it encouraged Octavia to get back in touch with Bellamy. Apparently she didn’t want to stay in touch with people who would tie themselves, or force others to be tied, to someone like Echo. As soon as they were married she eloped with Lincoln and we never saw or heard from her again. We didn’t know, even though Octavia doesn’t believe us, that Echo and Ontari used to bully Octavia mercilessly when they were younger and we never stopped them: in fact we used to force Octavia to spend time with them even when she didn’t want to. Charles and I made so many mistakes with Aurora’s beloved children and I let her and them down badly.

When we learned that Clarke was pregnant again, she overheard Charles’s sneering comment “Doesn’t she know anything about contraception?” Of course we all know that contraception is the responsibility of both parties involved, and that no contraception is infallible, but still, to get pregnant twice out of wedlock is not terribly impressive for a so called Doctor. And then we were told that Gus had Downs Syndrome and a congenital heart defect that would shorten his life considerably. Charles’s family were appalled that they were continuing with the pregnancy and bringing a defective child into the Pike clan (tensions were eased somewhat when they were reminded that the child would be a Blake not a Pike). I thought that there would surely be a permanent schism in the family then, but Sinclair and Madi brought about a cease fire which – thankfully - is still holding.

And Gus is the dearest little boy and there is none that is more loved by his family than he despite the fact that they know that Gus is living on borrowed time. It’s as if they are all determined to bestow a lifetime of love on Gus no matter how little time he will have to live.

The processional music began as Clarke, accompanied by Gus carrying a cushion with the two rings, walked down the aisle. Madi’s new sister-in-law to be as the only bridesmaid, accompanied by Sinclair who Madi has called her bride’sman of honour, followed. And finally, Madi, looking stunning in a fitted fish-tail dress of ivory lace, walked down the aisle with her hand resting on the arm of an incredibly proud Bellamy. 

Oh my dear Bellamy, how much he had missed from Madi’s life, all her major and minor milestones except College graduation and now this, her wedding day. I was sure that the reason Bellamy was so determined not to miss any part of Gus’s life was to try to make up for all he missed from Madi’s growing years. And Bellamy looked happier, and younger, now than I had seen him look for many a year. There was no doubt; divorcing Echo was the best thing that Bellamy could do. 

Immediately after that first meeting with Clarke – apart from the meeting that led to Madi’s conception, of course – Bellamy decided not to stay in Polis and moved to Arkadia. He cut down his hours by only taking classes for the more senior students. It gave him a lot more time to spend with his family and he thrived. Echo refused to give Bellamy the quick, quiet divorce that he so wanted and gave him, and the whole family, merry hell. It took Nia to bring her to heel. If it wasn’t for her conniving, Bellamy could have been this happy for years, and maybe, probably, would have had more children to love and enjoy. Why did Echo have to be such a bitch?


End file.
